1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems for processing of computer data.
2. Background Art
With the vast selection of entertainment media and web sites currently available, competing for the attention of the video media viewer is now a daunting task. Although traditional written means of guidance for entertainment media selection such as reviews, episode guides, and summaries might suffice if the video media viewer is sufficiently motivated to conduct the required research, many others may be intimidated by the amount of effort required, even abandoning the whole enterprise of watching the video media in the first place. To make optimal use of limited leisure time, the video media viewer demands easy, instant access to media content that is custom tailored to the viewer's tastes and interests. Traditional entertainment delivery paradigms have so far largely failed to satisfy this demand, putting the onus of content selection on the viewer, often with limited guiding tools or assistance.
Even on-demand media delivery systems, such as Internet streaming video, suffer from a lack of tools facilitating easy selection of media content. For example, a television drama might have several episodes spanning several seasons, maybe even hundreds of episodes for particularly long running programs. Program direction, cast, storylines, and production values might vary wildly from one episode to another. A viewer facing this inscrutable mass of media content might decide to ignore it completely and do something else instead. Since the task of content selection is rendered so difficult by the sheer amount of media content and the lack of helpful guidance available, and only a small portion of the content may actually interest the viewer, a quick cost-benefit analysis may reveal that the time and effort spent to select the media content outweighs the rewards of viewership.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a system to allow easy selection and viewing of video media content that interests a viewer, without requiring undue effort from the viewer.